During the last strong El Niño in 2015, South Carolina experienced catastrophic flooding, driven by record-breaking rain. Forecasters say the super El Niño now developing is likely to be even stronger. Sean Rayford/Getty Images hide caption
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A Valar Atomics microreactor is seen on a C-17 aircraft, without nuclear fuel, at March Air Reserve Base in California on Feb. 15. The reactor was transported from March Air Reserve Base to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Matthew Daly/AP hide caption
A startup wants to build a massive nuclear-powered data center on public land in Utah
Jaimie Bethea, a 21-year-old mass communication specialist, had been deployed on the USS Fort Lauderdale for more than 11 months. She died by suicide in June, a month before the ship finally returned to Norfolk, Va. Arianna Calderon hide caption
Family seeks 'semblance of justice' after sailor on long deployment dies by suicide
Experts say that though the National Institutes of Health's total budget suggests that little has changed for the agency and its grantees, that top line masks deeper disruptions. Eva Revolver for NPR hide caption
Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour at his home in Jerusalem, surrounded by his paintings on Nov. 18, 2025. Afif Amireh for NPR hide caption
What painter Sliman Mansour told NPR about Palestinian rights and art before he died
The U.S. Capitol is pictured on Sept. 14, 2026. Allison Robbert/AP hide caption
As Congress confronts AI, Senate lawmakers are shut off from its most advanced tools
Cynthia Montoya sits in the living room of her home in Thornton, Colo., where photographs and memories of her daughter, Juliana, surround her. Juliana was 13 years old when she started using AI chatbots, and within a year she died by suicide. Jimena Peck for NPR hide caption
Signage directs voters at a polling place in White Bear Township, Minn., on Aug. 11. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images hide caption
A voter casts her ballot in Colorado's primary election at the Central Library on June 30 in Denver. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images hide caption
A nurse displays a set of birth control pills at Pima County Health Department's Northwest Clinic, which offers free reproductive health services for all ages through federal funding from Title X, in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. Anna Watts for NPR hide caption
21 million women live in U.S. counties with limited birth control access
Observers film ICE agents in Minneapolis in February. A new lawsuit alleges that the federal government is trying to intimidate observers who monitor immigration enforcement operations. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images hide caption
In this file photo from 2024, Pennsylvania poll workers demonstrate how ballots are are received, processed, scanned and securely stored. Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images hide caption
Judges may face unprecedented decisions this election. A new guide seeks to help
Retired New York City Fire Department Captain Rocco Fertoli pauses near a reflecting pool at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan on Aug. 10. He visited the site with his daughter, reporter Annmarie Fertoli, as he shared his memories of 9/11 for the first time. Olga Ginzburg for NPR hide caption
People line up before their hearings at the New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court in October 2025. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
David Richardson testifies before Congress in 2025, when he was leading the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In a new book, he describes his efforts to dramatically reduce the agency's size. "I quickly realized that I would not be the one to transform FEMA or shut it down," he says. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption
A voter casts their ballot at a polling station in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood as New Yorkers head to the polls on Primary Day on June 23 in New York City. Laura Brett/Getty Images hide caption
The Trump administration removed language banning political interference from the scientific integrity policy for the Commerce Department, the parent agency of the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which are headquartered in Suitland, Md. Michael Zamora/NPR hide caption
NPR spent 2 years tracking deaths from heat. We found a staggering hidden toll
President Trump is joined by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who oversees the Census Bureau, as he speaks in the White House's Oval Office in 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption
Federal regulators have opened an inquiry into so-called "mention markets" on prediction market sites, where people bet millions of dollars on what a speaker may or may not utter. Erin Hooley/AP Photo/Erin Hooley/AP hide caption
Feds probe ‘mention markets’ amid White House Kalshi controversy
An arts school where Epstein allegedly preyed on students reveals decades of abuse
Daniel Kim, a structural engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, says uncertainty about the planned relocation of the agency's New York District headquarters has already contributed to the loss of experienced staff. Shuran Huang for NPR hide caption